1.
Elkridge, Maryland
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Elkridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,593 at the 2010 census, founded early in the 18th century, Elkridge is located at the confluence of three counties, the other two being Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties. Elkridge qualifies as the oldest settlement in its present county, when Howard was a part of Anne Arundel County and its location on the Patapsco River was a key element in its growth. The Maryland General Assembly elected a law to erect a 30-acre, in 1738 an attempt to formalize the town failed with the death of the commissioners before passage. In 1750 a second attempt to formalize the town was attempted around the lands of Phillip Hammond, by comparison, Baltimore Town consisted of only 25 dwellings at that time. A third petition was filed in 1762, the settlement was founded as a place where planters, who each had a wharf along the river, could bring their tobacco crop to be loaded on English trading ships. Later, Elkridge Landing was built as the dock for the community. The millrace that fed water to the furnace was filled in in the 1920s to create the current Race Road, the Hockley Forge and Mill were created upstream in 1760. In 1781, Lafayette camped light infantry at Elkridge Landing en route to Virginia during the Revolutionary war, in 1825, Jansen Town burned, taking out all of the oldest buildings at the Landing and 9 out of 10 houses in the village. The same year, on October 12,1825, the Elkridge Landing postal stop was created, Elkridge has historic churches, including Melville Church on Furnace Avenue. Its original building was the first Methodist church built and was visited on the rides of Francis Asbury. Saint Augustine Church, on Old Washington Road, was built in 1845, Elkridge had a rich history of industries, including pig-iron forging, basket weaving, paper, cotton and grist milling, as well as employment from the B&O Railroad. The Thomas Viaduct, located over Levering Avenue at the entrance to the Patapsco Valley State Park, is the oldest multiple-arched curved stone railroad bridge in the world, built in 1833, its architect was Benjamin Latrobe, Jr. The B&O first used horse-drawn coaches in relays, hence Relay Station was added, the viaduct also carried the Tom Thumb, and the first telegraph message from Washington, D. C. stating What hath God wrought. was wired across. Elkridge did not escape the Civil War, some of these families had slaves. Their estate cottages were built along the top of the Lawyers Hill, including along Old Lawyers Hill Road and this community hall, built in 1871, was a neutral meeting place for entertainments for Northern and Southern sympathizers of the neighborhood and owned by them as stockholders. Neighbors did not betray neighbors and each protected others property from advancing troops, many homes remain, while others burned and have not been rebuilt, such Fairie Knowe in 1850 and 1900. The Lawyers Hill Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, the Washington Turnpike Road Company built what is now Washington Boulevard between 1796 and 1812, creating a major north–south land route that is now U. S. Route 1
2.
Historic districts in the United States
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Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided into two categories, contributing and non-contributing. Districts greatly vary in size, some have hundreds of structures, the U. S. federal government designates historic districts through the United States Department of Interior under the auspices of the National Park Service. Federally designated historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, state-level historic districts may follow similar criteria or may require adherence to certain historic rehabilitation standards. Local historic district designation offers, by far, the most legal protection for historic properties because most land use decisions are made at the local level, local districts are generally administered by the county or municipal government. The first U. S. historic district was established in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931, Charleston city government designated an Old and Historic District by local ordinance and created a board of architectural review to oversee it. New Orleans followed in 1937, establishing the Vieux Carré Commission, other localities picked up on the concept, with the city of Philadelphia enacting its historic preservation ordinance in 1955. The Supreme Court case validated the protection of resources as an entirely permissible governmental goal. In 1966 the federal government created the National Register of Historic Places, conference of Mayors had stated Americans suffered from rootlessness. By the 1980s there were thousands of federally designated historic districts, Historic districts are generally two types of properties, contributing and non-contributing. In general, contributing properties are integral parts of the historic context, in addition to the two types of classification within historic districts, properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places are classified into five broad categories. They are, building, structure, site, district and object, all but the eponymous district category are also applied to historic districts listed on the National Register. A listing on the National Register of Historic Places is governmental acknowledgment of a historic district, however, the Register is an honorary status with some federal financial incentives. The National Register of Historic Places defines a historic district per U. S. federal law, a district may also comprise individual elements separated geographically but linked by association or history. Districts established under U. S. federal guidelines generally begin the process of designation through a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, the National Register is the official recognition by the U. S. government of cultural resources worthy of preservation. While designation through the National Register does offer a district or property some protections, if the federal government is not involved, then the listing on the National Register provides the site, property or district no protections. If, however, company A was under federal contract the Smith House would be protected, a federal designation is little more than recognition by the government that the resource is worthy of preservation. Usually, the National Register does not list religious structures, moved structures, reconstructed structures, however, if a property falls into one of those categories and are integral parts of districts that do meet the criteria then an exception allowing their listing will be made. Historic district listings, like all National Register nominations, can be rejected on the basis of owner disapproval, in the case of historic districts, a majority of owners must object in order to nullify a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places
3.
Howard County, Maryland
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Howard County is a county located in the central part of the U. S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 287,085 and its county seat is Ellicott City. Howard County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, however, recent development in the south of the county has led to some realignment towards the Washington, D. C. media and employment markets. The county is home to Columbia, a planned community of approximately 100,000 founded by developer James Rouse in 1967. Howard County is frequently cited for its affluence, quality of life, with an estimated median household income of $108,844 in 2012, Howard County had the third-highest median household income of any U. S. county in 2013. The main population center of Columbia/Ellicott City was named second among Money magazines 2010 survey of Americas Best Places to Live, Howard Countys schools frequently rank first in Maryland as measured by standardized test scores and graduation rates. In 2010, the center of population of Maryland was located in the Howard County town of Jessup and he was the fifth governor of Maryland from 1788 to 1791. The lands of prehistoric Howard County were populated by Native Americans, the Maryland Historical Trust has documented sites along the Patapsco, Patuxent, Middle and Little Patuxent River valleys. In 1652, the Susquehannock tribes signed a treaty with Maryland. In 1800, the center of U. S. population as calculated by the US Census Bureau was found in what is now Howard County. In 1838, Dr. William Watkins of Richland Manor proposed the Howard District of Anne Arundel County, after several adjournments, the area of western Anne Arundel County was designated the Howard District in 1839. The district had the status as a county except that it was not separately represented in the Maryland General Assembly. In 1841, the county built its first courthouse in Ellicott City, at the January 1851 constitutional convention, Thomas Beale Dorsey submitted a petition led by James Sykes. A committee was formed with Dorsey, Bowie, Smith, Harbine, after several postponements, the district was erected officially as Howard County on March 7,1851. The plantations of modern Howard County used slave labor as early as 1690, at the time of the Underground Railroad, some Howard County residents assisted slaves who were escaping to freedom. This was particularly risky, as many prominent plantation families were Confederate sympathizers during the Civil War, Maryland was exempt from the Emancipation Proclamation, later abolishing slavery in the update of the Maryland Constitution in November 1864. On May 1,1883 Howard County joined Anne Arundel and Hardford County in liquor prohibition, by 1899, Howard County contained 400 miles of dirt and 48 miles of stone roads, including three paid turnpikes maintained by 118 men. Most traffic consisted of loads delivered to rail crossings, in 1909, County Commissioners Hess, Werner and ONeil were charged with malfeasance regarding contract bids
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U.S. Route 1 in Maryland
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U. S. Route 1 is the easternmost and longest of the major north–south routes of the United States Numbered Highway System, running from Key West, Florida to Fort Kent, Maine. In the U. S. state of Maryland, an 80. 86-mile segment of the runs through central Maryland between Mount Rainier and Rising Sun. US1 is paralleled by several major highways as it passes through Maryland, including Interstate 95, the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, U. S. Route 29, thus, US1 has lost its significance as a long distance route through the state. It is often congested, however, because it remains a major route in the towns it traverses. US1 leaves the District of Columbia and enters Maryland at the City of Mount Rainier in Prince Georges County, the highway heads northeast from Eastern Avenue as Rhode Island Avenue, a four-lane divided street with parking through a downtown-like commercial area. US1 meets 34th Avenue and Perry Street at a roundabout, the highway leaves Mount Rainier and enters Brentwood, where the highway meets MD208. US1 passes through North Brentwood as a divided highway without parking through a mix of residences. The median widens as the highway crosses Northwest Branch and enters the City of Hyattsville, the highway begins to closely parallel CSXs Capital Subdivision and MARCs Camden Line as it reduces to a four-lane undivided highway, passing Prince Georges District Court. US1 curves to the north and the name changes to Baltimore Avenue at Farragut Street. US1 continues north through downtown Hyattsville, gaining a center turn lane before entering the town of Riverdale Park, the highway enters a densely populated residential area, passing between Riverdale Park to the east and the town of University Park to the west. Shortly after the highway enters the City of College Park on the east, only buses may enter Queens Chapel Road from US1. The highway fully enters College Park and enters the area that makes up the downtown of the college town. After the intersection with College Avenue and Regents Drive, US1 passes through the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park, including the historic Rossborough Inn, the highway leaves the campus after intersecting Campus Drive and crossing Paint Branch. US1 continues through the part of College Park as a five-lane road with center turn lane. The highway intersects Greenbelt Road, which is unsigned MD430, all movements not provided in the interchange require using Greenbelt Road to connect between US1 and MD193. After intersecting Cherry Hill Road, US1 becomes a divided highway, at Sunnyside Avenue, the highway reduces to a five-lane road with center turn lane and passes through a suburban commercial area in the unincorporated town of Beltsville. The highway meets Rhode Island Avenue at an intersection and MD212 at a more orthogonal intersection before curving north. The highway passes between a commercial strip on the side of the highway and an industrial area on the east side of the railroad tracks
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Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
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The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with a line from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook. At this point to continue westward, it had to cross into Virginia over the Potomac River, adjacent to the confluence of the Potomac, from there it was extended to the Ohio River at Wheeling and a few years later also to Parkersburg, West Virginia. It is now part of the CSX Transportation network, and includes the oldest operational railroad bridge in the USA, the B&O also included the Leiper Railroad, the first permanent horse-drawn railroad in the U. S. In later years, B&O advertising carried the motto, Linking 13 Great States with the Nation, the B&O Warehouse at the Camden Yards rail junction in Baltimore now dominates the view over the right-field wall at the Baltimore Orioles current home, Oriole Park at Camden Yards. At the end of 1970 B&O operated 5552 miles of road and 10449 miles of track, not including the Staten Island Rapid Transit or the Reading and its subsidiaries. The fast-growing port city of Baltimore, Maryland faced economic stagnation unless it opened routes to the western states, as New York had done with the Erie Canal in 1820. In 1827, twenty-five merchants and bankers studied the best means of restoring that portion of the Western trade which has recently been diverted from it by the introduction of steam navigation and their answer was to build a railroad—one of the first commercial lines in the world. Two men — Philip E. Thomas and George Brown — were the pioneers of the railroad and they spent the year 1826 investigating railway enterprises in England, which were at that time being tested in a comprehensive fashion as commercial ventures. Their investigation completed, they held a meeting on February 12,1827, including about twenty-five citizens. Thomas was elected as the first president and Brown the treasurer, the capital of the proposed company was fixed at five million dollars, but the B&O was initially capitalized in 1827 with a three million dollar issue of stock. Virtually every citizen of Baltimore owned a share, as the offering was oversubscribed, construction began on July 4,1828, when Charles Carroll of Carrollton did the groundbreaking. The initial tracks were built with granite stringers topped by iron rails. The first section, from Baltimore west to Ellicotts Mills, opened on May 24,1830. Developers decided to follow the Patapsco River to a point near Parrs Ridge, a later compromise allowed the two companies to share the right of way. The State of Maryland granted the B&O a charter to build a line from Baltimore to Washington, D. C. in 1831, and the Washington Branch was opened in 1835. This line joined to the mainline at Relay, Maryland, crossing the Patapsco on the Thomas Viaduct. This line was funded by the state, and was operated separately until the 1870s
6.
Province of Maryland
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Its first settlement and capital was St. Marys City, in the southern end of St. Marys County, which is a peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay and is also bordered by four tidal rivers. The province began as a colony of the English Lord Baltimore. In 1689, the following the Glorious Revolution, John Coode led a rebellion that removed Lord Baltimore from power in Maryland. Power in the colony was restored to the Baltimore family in 1715 when Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, insisted in public that he was a Protestant. Despite early competition with the colony of Virginia to its south, and the Dutch colony of New Netherland to its north, Maryland received a larger felon quota than any other province. By 1776 the old order had been overthrown, as Maryland citizens signed the Declaration of Independence, the Catholic George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, former Secretary of State to His Majesty, King Charles I, wished to create a haven for English Catholics in the New World. Upon Baltimores death in 1632 the grant was transferred to his eldest son Cecil, on June 20,1632 Charles I of England granted the original charter for Maryland, a proprietary colony of about twelve million acres, to Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Some historians view this grant as a form of compensation for Calverts fathers having been stripped of his title of Secretary of State upon announcing his Roman Catholicism in 1625. The charter offered no guidelines on religion, although it was assumed that Catholics would not be molested in the new colony. The charter had originally granted to Calverts father, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore. Whatever the reason for granting the colony specifically to Baltimore, however, the colony of New Netherland begun by Englands great imperial rival in this era, the United Provinces specifically claimed the Delaware River valley and was vague about its border with Virginia. Charles rejected all the Dutch claims on the Atlantic seaboard, but was anxious to bolster English claims by formally occupying the territory, the new colony was named after the devoutly Catholic Henrietta Maria of France, the Queen Consort. Colonial Maryland was considerably larger than the state of Maryland. The original charter granted the Calverts an imprecisely defined territory north of Virginia and south of the 40th parallel, like other aristocratic proprietors, he also hoped to turn a profit on the new colony. The Calvert family recruited Catholic aristocrats and Protestant settlers for Maryland, luring them with land grants. To try to gain settlers, Maryland used what is known as the headright system, settlers were given 50 acres of land for each person they brought into the colony, whether as settler, indentured servant or slave. Of the 200 or so initial settlers who traveled to Maryland on the ships Ark and Dove, Clements Island, off the northern shore of the Potomac River, upstream from its confluence with the Chesapeake Bay and Point Lookout. The new settlers were led by Lord Baltimores younger brother Leonard Calvert and he knew of white men from communication with native tribes to the South and West in Virginia and he was eager to gain technology, such as guns and gunpowder, from the Maryland settlers
